The McNeill surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 19,152 people carried this name — #1,875 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 15,400 people counted. That is up 5% from 18,272 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the McNeill surname

A surname from Scottish Gaelic of Scottish origin.

From Scottish Gaelic Mac (“son of”) + Niall (“possibly "the champion”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «McNeill» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 58 births for the McNeill name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,600 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 5 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim and Londonderry.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 46
Connacht 5
Leinster 5
Munster 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

22 people named McNeill live in Switzerland.

They live in 2 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 15
Geneva 7

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Scotland, 1880s

McNeil and McNeill, counted together, were 13 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 769. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Argyllshire and Renfrewshire.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 592 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

McNeill was recorded 90 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 289th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 181. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

In 1790, McNeill was counted together with McNiel: 168 families in all.

Each family is counted by its head. About 932 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: McNiel, McKneal, McNeal, Macneal, McNeale, McNeall, Mcneel, McNeel, McNeele, McNeell, McNeil, MacNeil, McNeile, McNeill, McNiell. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

North Carolina 64
Pennsylvania 26
New York 21
South Carolina 13
New Hampshire 11
Virginia 11
Connecticut 7
Vermont 5
Massachusetts 5
Maryland 4
Rhode Island 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 253 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

McNeill in American newspapers,
1919.

Newspaper page from Greenwood Daily Commonwealth carrying the name McNeill
Greenwood Daily Commonwealth 1919-12-08
Newspaper page from Greenwood Daily Commonwealth carrying the name McNeill
Greenwood Daily Commonwealth 1919-11-24
Newspaper page from Greenwood Daily Commonwealth carrying the name McNeill
Greenwood Daily Commonwealth 1919-12-15

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 107,449 pages in all carry the name.

In print

McNeill in Australian newspapers,
1840s–2000s.

29,722 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McNeill. The most, 7,489, date from the 1930s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 12,162
Queensland 5,491
Victoria 5,445
Western Australia 2,884
South Australia 2,478
Tasmania 942
ACT (Canberra) 226
Northern Territory 29

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss McNeill.

Who carried it

People named McNeill,
with a public archive behind them.

  • James McNeill Whistler
    James McNeill Whistler 1834–1903 · lithographer
  • Don McNeill
    Don McNeill 1918–1996 · tennis player
  • Ronald McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun
    Ronald McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun 1861–1934 · aristocrat
  • Billy McNeill 1940–2019 · association football player
  • William Hardy McNeill 1917–2016 · university teacher
  • Lee McNeill 1964–2021 · athletics competitor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0.

In the public record

People named McNeill,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States2,407 records

2,407 records of the McNeill name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 761
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 512
  • Other U.S. records 1,134
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Charles W. McNeill

    Born 1924 in West Virginia. Enlisted 1943 at Clarksburg; textile mill worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Potomac Memorial Gardens, Keyser, West Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Clarence Leon McNeill

    Born 1947; from Warsaw, North Carolina. U.S. Air Force; killed in action 1969 in Laos. Buried at Devotional Gardens, Warsaw, North Carolina.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Catherine McNeill

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 27; servant. From Tullow, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 2,407 records for McNeill in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1,306 records

1,306 records of the McNeill name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 725
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 232
  • Other Australian records 349
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William Joseph McNeill

    Died 1924 in Homoeopathic Hospital, Hobart, Tasmania. Will registered in Tasmania in 1924.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Catherine Jessie McNeill

    Born 1877 in Spring Bay, Tasmania. Married 1899 in Spring Bay, Tasmania, aged 21.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Martha Ann McNeill

    Born 1869 in Spring Bay, Tasmania. Died 1936 in Tasmania, aged 67.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,306 records for McNeill in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada472 records

472 records of the McNeill name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 324
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 49
  • Other Canadian records 99
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm McNeill

    Came to Ontario in 1880 aboard the Manitoban, landing at Quebec, bound for Kenilworth, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Altine Mary McNeill

    Buried in 1995 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 80.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Henry McNeill

    Died 1868 in Digby, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 472 records for McNeill in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom57 records

57 records of the McNeill name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 27
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 20
  • Other British records 10
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Charles D. McNeill

    Born 1892 at Inverallan; shop manager. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth McNeill

    Buried in 1970 at Callander Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 42.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record William McNeill

    Will proved in 1891; of Llandudno, Carnarvon.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 57 records for McNeill in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand42 records

42 records of the McNeill name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 37
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 2
  • Other New Zealand records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Grace Maud McNeill

    Died 1997, aged 87; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ronald Alastair McNeill

    Died 1992, aged 56; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record R. A. McNeill

    Died 1996; ashes interred at Rangiora Lawn Cemetery, Canterbury.

    Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 42 records for McNeill in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Ireland5 records

5 records of the McNeill name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mattie McNeill

    Died 1978; buried at Rakerin, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Christopher McNeill

    Died 1994; buried at Ballygar, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 5 records for McNeill in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France2 records

2 records of the McNeill name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Ronald Kirkwood McNeill

    Born 1934 in Great Britain; died 1996 in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (Alpes-Maritimes).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Edward George William McNeill

    Born 1911 in Fulham (Angleterre); died 2001 in Mont-Saint-Aignan (Seine-Maritime).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the McNeill name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Thomas Gordon McNeill

    Married in 1946 in Nijmegen; farmer.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Robert Wilson Mc. Neill

    Married in 1945 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with McNeill.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to McNeill.

When the index is not enough

This page says where McNeill is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the McNeill volume
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